Are You Influenced? Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Are You Influenced?------------------- Date: 4/18/2003 Keywords: “emotions” “feelings” “influence” “Satan” Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Mark 8:27-33, Matthew 16:15-17 * Mark 8 27. Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 28. So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 30. Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 31. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16 15. He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16. Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17. Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Questions 1. It says in verse 32 that Jesus talked to his disciples “openly.” What is the name of another teaching technique that Jesus was famous for using that enabled only certain people to understand him?   2. According to Jesus, is Satan a real person?   3. When Peter stated that Jesus is the Christ, what additional information do we get from the Gospel according to Matthew?   Practical help This is the second of two studies in this passage from Mark 8. We, like Peter, can be influenced for good by God and for bad by Satan. Of course, if your words always come out of your mouth based on deep reasoning, then perhaps you can take more credit for what you say. If you have to kick yourself for saying something stupid you now regret, then there is evidence that you speak not only from logic but also from emotion. Feelings and moods are funny things that are frankly quite easy to manipulate. How can we know who we are being influenced by? May I suggest that when we are being led toward goodness or the light we are thinking about God or His kingdom coming (just like the prayer, “…Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in Heaven, so also on the earth” — Luke 11.2). The position of dependence on God enables the Holy Spirit to work in us in very powerful ways. To determine whether or not Satan is affecting your thinking, it would be wise to consider how much of your life is lived with fear and guilt. For example, Peter was afraid that what Jesus was telling him would actually come about. If God’s truth causes fear in you, then it is probable that the fear is not coming from God. You have been influenced by pornography, but Jesus died for you. His death, although it was truly a fearful thing, was actually necessary in order to liberate you from sin and death. If Jesus tells you to walk away from pornography, but you are gripped by fear — either a fear that you won’t be able to do it or a fear that you will be giving up something that makes your life enjoyable, then recognize the real possibility that your being played with by the unseen enemy of your soul. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2003 by eXXit *Scripture taken from the New King James Version (NKJV), © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. ---